'Innocence of Muslims': The verdict

The official pretext is that 'Innocence of Muslims' is “extremist” – a punishable offence under Russian law. Source: Anna Nemtsova

Instead of searching for what could unite it, the country is now in danger of splitting along not only political, but also religious, lines.

Russia has passed an important milestone in
what can now be termed its own “culture war”. On Friday, reports emerged that a
court in the Chechen capital Grozny declared the broadcasting and distribution
of the controversial “Innocence of Muslims” video illegal. Once in force, under
Russian law, this ruling will cover the entire country.

This could well be the first official act
of religious censorship in post-Communist Russian history. The consequences of
this action are unpredictable and very possibly dangerous. The official pretext
is that the film is “extremist” – a punishable offence under Russian law.
However the clause in question, written as a safeguard against Islamist
terrorists, Nazi skinheads and their ilk, has now become a universal tool used
to suppress dissent and limit civil liberties.

First, by letting a Chechen court take the
lead, the Russian government confirmed that Chechnya is a semi-official
enforcer of Islamic orthodoxy across Russia. Stories of the selective but
persistent application of Shariah law by the Chechen authorities (such as
forcing women to wear headscarves and banning sale of alcohol) have been
circulating for quite some time. However this is the first time that the
Russian media will have little option but to cave in to what is no doubt a
Shariah-motivated judgement.

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Second, the ruling places a question mark
over freedoms guaranteed by the Russian Constitution and international human
rights to which Russia has signed up: freedom of information and artistic
expression. This also follows in the wake of the State Duma initiative to amend
the penal code to include punishment for “offending the feelings of believers”
– an all-encompassing and vague term that no one intends to define. In turn,
this Duma initiative grew out of the scandalous and controversial Pussy Riot
‘blasphemy’ trial this summer. Taken together, these developments mean that
religious belief is now de facto off limits as far as criticism is concerned in
Russia.

Third, this means that there new splits
have been created in Russian society – between believers and non-believers, but
also between the followers of different faiths who will be watching out for
signs of offensiveness in Christian missionary books, the Imams’ Friday sermons
or the rabbis’ Sabbath talks.

Religious revival in Russia is a recent
phenomenon and what is singularly lacking is a tradition of reasoned discourse
and coexistence between believers, agnostics, and atheists. For many Russians,
Christianity, Islam or (increasingly) militant secularism are not causes to be
argued but imperatives to be implemented in real life at any cost.

Religious beliefs are seen as a substitute
for the communist ideal that collapsed, but also for the common civic identity
that is manifestly lacking in Russia. In such a climate, mutual suspicion can
only grow and tensions between different communities increase.

For example, although Muslim clerics sided
with Russian Orthodox Church in demanding Pussy Riot receive strict punishment
for their blasphemy, the Church views growing numbers of Muslims and their
active proselytizing warily. Although they may be partners in one cause – they
could still be bitter rivals in others.

This situation suits the Kremlin well, as
it then is left in the enviable position of ultimate arbiter in any spiritual
disputes that touch a raw nerve with the general public just when the
authorities’ reputation is in decline.

Most opponents of Vladimir Putin’s
government stress their adherence to upholding basic constitutional norms and
liberties. In this new atmosphere it will be easier for the authorities to
portray supporters of the opposition as radical atheists whose idea of politics
is dancing in the churches wearing coloured balaclavas.

This latest development, centring on a
Chechen court, casts a gloomy shadow over the future of Russian society.
Instead of searching for what could unite it, the country is now in danger of
splitting along not only political, but also religious, lines. Anyone in need
of proof that stability in Russia is ephemeral should look no further.